State Police Urging Safe Holiday Travel

Indiana State Police are participating in in the annual Safe Family Travel Campaign. / Photo: Indiana State Police

In an effort to make the upcoming Thanksgiving Holiday travel period safer, the Indiana State Police will be joining approximately 250 other law enforcement agencies statewide in participating in the annual Safe Family Travel campaign.

Beginning Friday and running through Sunday, Dec. 1, the Indiana State Police will be conducting high visibility enforcement efforts including sobriety check points and saturation patrols targeting impaired drivers and unrestrained motorists.

In 2012, alcohol-impaired driving in Indiana was linked to 150 fatalities and 2,112 injuries. That's an increase from 140 fatalities in 2011. Alcohol-impaired collisions were less than three percent of all Indiana crashes, but accounted for 20.3 percent of Indiana traffic fatalities in 2012.

Indiana State Police say roughly six out of 10 fatalities in alcohol-impaired collisions were the impaired driver from 2008 to 2012. Approximately 80 percent of serious fatal and incapacitating injuries from alcohol-impaired collisions occurring during the 2008-2012 period were suffered by impaired drivers and their passengers.